Rural high speed internet

[Blakers]

I'm in the same boat as we are too rural for DSL and there is no cable TV on the road. The local phone company (Windstream) keeps saying we will get DSL, but there is no commitment on time and no idea when.

The best connection I can get on dialup is 26 kbps and it's driving me crazy. Takes 10-15 minutes to do one paypal transaction - and I use it all the time for my business.

I can get Verizon Wireless Broadband for $60/month; and I can get Wildblue and HughesNet satellite for about the same price, but need to buy equipment for around $200. Right now Verizon has USB modems for free with a rebate.

I have a Powerbook and my wife has a Mac Mini - they are networked with ethernet.

QUESTION: can both computers hook to the internet at the same time if we only have one USB modem since they are networked?

Thanks so much!

Blake

 

[moparguy]

Good to see this thread revived. I'm way out in the sticks at home as in no cable/dsl or even cell phone and have become addicted to my cable Internet when working (gas fields so away from home during the week).



Current suggestions are welcome.

 

[jeepit]

I never did the satellite internet due to cost. I am not even rural, more suburban I would say. Cable company just ran cable past my home to reach a new subdivision down the road.

11 years ago they laughed at me when I asked them to run a cable past my home so I could connect. They said "sir, you will have to pay us to run it to your house since you are the only residence down that county road. " To this day I have vowed never to do business with them again, although it is tempting right now.

DSL is being installed all over except where I am located, which is the service I would really like to use. So... still stuck with dialup unless I give in to cable...

 

[Joe G.]

jeepit,



Give in to cable. I can understand their response to your request the first time. I have cable. It is a lot faster than DSL. I had some problems that took some solving. Telephone help didn't work when my wife called the 800 number. I'm almost deaf so I went into town to the local office. That worked for me as well as my neighbors who have been unable to get phone service. PM me if you want to discuss the problems with installation of cable internet.



Blakers,



I have three computers sharing the same internet connection. The modem is connected to a router which connects to the computers. No problems and the "host" computer does not have to be on like it did when I only had two computers connected without the router.

 

[Blakers]

I have three computers sharing the same internet connection. The modem is connected to a router which connects to the computers. No problems and the "host" computer does not have to be on like it did when I only had two computers connected without the router.

Would the routers they sell at Walmart work? Does the router have to have a USB port of its own in order to hook up Verizon's DSL modem?



As far as RF Wireless, how would one go about finding out if the service is available locally?



I have Verizon for our cell phones, but are there better deals out there for cellular broadband? Cell One, Sprint, AT&T, etc. ?



Thanks,

Blake

 

[Joe G.]

I have no idea what they sell at Walmart. I guess we are behind the times were I live because it's over 80 miles to the closest Walmart.



I have a Linksys router that I picked up at Staples. It uses Ethernet cables from the modem and to the computers. Some routers are wireless. No USB connections involved.

 

[Blakers]

The ones at Walmart are Linksys. I was just wondering how one would connect the router to the Verizon modem? Verizon offers either a USB or PC card modem.

Thanks.

 

[Joe G.]

The way mine works is that the incoming cable attaches to the modem. The modem attaches to the router. The router attaches to each computer. That is, the modem does not attach to nor is it in the computer. It's a stand alone gadget with it's own processor. Certainly not a card modem.

 

[Blakers]

I decided to go with Verizon Wireless and their EVDO broadband internet. There is no up-front cost as the USB modem is free and the price is $60/month. There's a 30 day trial, so we'll see how it works. Advertised speeds look pretty good. And there's a Kyocera router designed for EVDO that will allow wired and wireless in home networking. We'll get that if we like the service.

Blake

 

[PVanderlugt]

Blake, That is the exact set up I went with, Verizons usb720 (free)
with the KR1 wireless router, great set up, plugged it in, set it up and ready to roll 10 minutes tops. Tigerdirect was selling the kr1 for 169. seems to work very well, stable and getting great speeds. great way to go
Pete

 

[Blakers]

Pete, do you find Verizon's 5 GB per billing cycle to be a severe limitation?
Blake

 

[PVanderlugt]

Blake, can't give you an answer because I am still in my trial period, don't anticipate it to be a problem but we'll see. I imagine it was done to discourage Sharing with your neighbours etc. We'll find out
Pete

 

[Blakers]

yea, I'm still in my trial period too. I like it, but it was running extremely slow today - down below 100 kbps average. When I got it last week it was hitting 1. 2 MBps and averaging about 600-800 kbps.



Hopefully it won't be that slow often. I don't have the router yet - just using the 720 modem by itself. It also has a WI-FI feature without a router, but I haven't figured that out yet.



Blake

 

[Blakers]

I bought a Kyocera KR1 router on Ebay for a hundred bucks and it really works nice. I'm getting a lot faster speeds with the router than I was with just the 720USB modem.



Question for you guys who are running this Verizon Wireless EVDO network: Do you stay connected to the Internet all the time, or do you disconnect at night or when you are not using it for longer periods of time? Does Verizon get upset if you stay on too long while not actively using the service?



Thanks.



Blake

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I've left my Verizon EVDO modem (Kyocera KPC-650) and KR1 router online for up to a week. Never once have they complained. I think my usage one month was just shy of 4GB... I think 5GB is the threshold where they will cancel you.



Beers,



Matt

 

[Blakers]

Thanks Matt. I've heard of people getting kicked off after past 5GB and a warning, but the Verizon salesman says the latest policy is to just reduce the throughput to their National Access plan (about dialup speeds) for the duration of the billing period in which you exceeded the 5GB.



I'm up to 613,966. 43 KB so far (since Jan 3rd), so I don't know how close I'll come to the 5GB.



It looks like you can turn the modem on and off in the control by going to http://192.168.0.1/st_device.html



Thanks,

Blake

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I know that watching on-demand movies from Netflix will help things stack up in a hurry... :-laf



Beers,



Matt